In My Daughter's Eyes
by southernbelle4
Summary: Sam held his daughter close, looking in her eyes, clearly seeing those of her mother. Part II (conclusion) up!
1. Part I

**_In My Daughter's Eyes_**

PG: Sam/? Drama

I don't own The West Wing Characters, nor do I own the song "In My Daughter's Eyes." TWW is owned by NBC, John Wells and Aaron Sorkin, and "IMDE" is creditied to RCA records and Martina McBride and the songwriter James Slater. I make no profit in this creative endeavor.

This is a short stand alone story that is based (obviously) on the song "In My Daughter's Eyes." This came to me after hearing the song for about the 600th time. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think. I love Reviews!

* * *

_In my daughter's eyes I am a hero  
I am strong and wise and I know no fear  
But the truth is plain to see  
She was sent to rescue me  
I see who I wanna be  
In my daughter's eyes_

Her mother stood in the silent moments, watching him hold delicate bundle unyielding to his chest. His arms protectively covering the little girl in his arms, shielding her from the dangers of the world that he wished he could take away entirely. The tiny sobs that garnered him into the room subsided gradually. She smiled at the interaction between the two, and not interrupting, slips away satisfied.

_In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal  
Darkness turns to light and the  
world is at peace  
This miracle God gave to me gives me  
strength when I am weak  
I find reason to believe  
In my daughter's eyes_

Angelica Seaborn's first trip to the White House was nothing short of overwhelming for the four-month-old. Fussing the whole time, she only quieted when passed to the leader of the Free World. Seeing her daughter's interaction with the President, made her mother brim with happiness. She watched intently as the entirety of the Senior Staff cooed over the child.

_And when she wraps her hand  
around my finger  
Oh it puts a smile in my heart  
Everything becomes a little clearer  
I realize what life is all about_

She was growing so quickly. At eight months, Angelica was trying to walk. Her mother sensed the panic this caused her father. She knew that her daughter had his coordination, so walking could prove to be a problem. She had the desire to laugh every time he wound up on his hands and knees, searching for the now mobile child, who she knew was perfectly safe.

_It's hangin' on when your heart  
has had enough  
It's giving more when you feel like giving up  
I've seen the light  
It's in my daughter's eyes_

She watched as he expertly changed the birthday girl's diaper. He dressed her in the black and white gingham dress, perfect for that day's perfect spring weather. She noticed a look on his face that clearly told her what he was thinking. Angelica seemed to read his mind as well, gurgling out something in an unintelligible language, in a way that caused a smile to return to his face.

_In my daughter's eyes I can see the future  
A reflection of who I am and what will be  
Though she'll grow and someday leave  
Maybe raise a family_

The marble filled meadow seemed desolate and cold despite the warming air of the season. He carried Angelica to the place that he had avoided for the past year. It had been too painful to come. But it had been a year. From her spot behind him, the girl's mother watched silently, enjoying the closeness with Sam and Angelica. He laid the blanket on the manicured grass, and sat down, holding his daughter in his lap.

_When I'm gone I hope you see how happy  
she made me_

He softly touched the engraved words, words he treasured in his heart despite the pain they caused.

"Ainsley Hayes-Seaborn. She brought an Angel into the world, then became one herself."

Sam held his daughter close, looking into her eyes, clearly seeing those of her mother. Ainsley moved closer…close enough to reassure him that she was there. He knew she was with them, and always would be, and if he ever doubted that, all he had to do was look in their daughter's eyes.

_For I'll be there  
In my daughter's eyes_


	2. Part II

This is an addition to _In My Daughter's Eyes._ I was going to leave the story alone, but I wanted to know what happened to Angelica. It may have been wrong to add to a story that seemed to end already, but I couldn't help myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think…I thrive off reviews.

(All the disclaimers are in Part I)

* * *

"Dad, please don't do anything to embarrass me tonight." 

Sam looked at Angelica as she faced the full-length mirror in her room. He sighed as he followed her lead, staring at her reflection. She was growing faster than he would have liked. The navy knee length dress accentuated her nicely developing figure, a figure that Sam would rather her keep hidden away for a few more years. Her blonde hair fell in thick perfection down her back, making her look older than her nearly fourteen years.

"Why would I do that?" he asked from his seat on her bed.

"I'm just saying."

"I won't do anything to embarrass you, honey. I promise."

She smiled, and her eyes met her father's in the mirror. She saw his expression change, and she turned to face him.

"You okay, Dad?"

"I'm fine."

"You wish she was here?"

There was no question as to whom the "she" was in reference to.

He gave her a lopsided smile and proceeded to change the subject.

"So, who is this Lucas guy?"

"Only the best looking guy in school," the girl said charmingly. "All the girls wanted to go to the dance with him."

"And you were the lucky one."

"No, I wasn't going to sit back and wait for him to ask me…I asked him. He said it was spunky of me, so he accepted."

Sam had no doubt where his daughter's spunkiness came from. It was one of the things that had most endeared him to her mother fifteen years earlier. Not only did the girl almost impeccably resemble her mother physically, she also had her personality. For this, Sam was grateful.

It was at that moment that the doorbell to their Alexandria home rang.

* * *

"This years valedictorian…Angelica Seaborn." 

The pretty blonde eighteen-year-old stepped up to the podium and smiled out into the audience, waiting for the applause to cease. She made brief eye contact with her beaming father, sitting on the third row, right in front of her.

"When I found out that I was supposed to give this speech, I really had no idea what to say. I know what a lot of you are thinking. Yes, I am the daughter of Sam Seaborn, former White House Deputy Communications Director. But I can't write speeches like my father, which could be a good thing, as this speech will be devoid of boring history lectures and lengthy paragraphs lacking both verbs and punctuation."

A hearty laughter filled the auditorium as Sam felt both an elbow in the side from Josh and a punch in the shoulder from Toby sitting behind him. He chuckled, grinning from ear to ear.

"It took me a while to decide what needed to be said to the Perkins Academy graduating class of 2021. But because of the recent passing of my father's former boss, President Josiah Bartlet, whom I knew only as Grandpa Jed, I found my muse. In the coverage, they showed a clip of a rousing speech that the President gave. In it, he said, 'There is more that unites us than divides us.' He of course was talking about political parties and affiliation. It was only after seeing the clip on television that I realized my father wrote those words."

She purposely avoided looking in Sam's direction because she knew the tears that were forming would soon overflow.

"I never knew my mother, but I know her reputation as a tough-as-nails Southern Republican. My California Democratic father speaks proudly about her, despite their many differences. They had a true bond, one that has never gone away, even though she has been gone for eighteen years."

CJ put a reassuring hand on Sam's back, knowing, even from her seat beside Toby, that he was struggling to keep the emotion inside.

"I know that, as a class, we had our differences. Political, racial, fiscal, religious. But those differences made us the class that we were. They made us unique, unlike any class before us. But more than our differences, let's remember what unites us, the things that we all have in common. We went through football state championships and basketball losses together. We all have fond memories of homecoming parties and spirit contests. We know the importance of the perfect prom dress, and the disappointment of showing up in the same gown as someone else. We all knew to avoid the cafeteria on fish stick day and to never, ever, under any circumstance be late for Mr. Wilder's class. We lost classmates and attended their funerals together. And this day, this day that we will never forget is the last thing that we have in common. Never again will we all be together, just like this. So as you leave here tonight, and go out into the world, remember the example set by my parents and the words spoken by a great President, because truly 'there is more that unites us than divides us.' Thank you."

The sixty graduates behind her rose to their feet in applause followed by the audience. Angelica walked back to her seat, finally making eye contact with her father. Her gentle smile thanked him for his words.

* * *

"You look beautiful, honey." 

Sam kissed his daughter's cheek, gently so as to not mess up her make up.

"I'm going to leave you two alone," the older blonde woman spoke up from the corner.

"Thanks, Aunt Donna."

"No problem. I've got to find Josh anyway. Who knows what kind of trouble he could have gotten into by now."

"Just as long as he isn't giving Lucas cold feet."

"I'll go make sure."

All three laughed, although Sam's was much less enthusiastic. He was giving his daughter away. She was standing there in her white gown, beaming. Yet, he could not reciprocate the emotion. She looked just like her mother had, so many years ago for their Rose Garden ceremony.

"Dad?"

"Sorry. I was just taking all this in."

His voice quivered slightly, and she moved put her arms around him.

"Oh, Daddy. Don't start. You'll get me started and then we'll just have a big mess."

"I'm sorry. You know you…you look just like your mother did on our wedding day. You have her eyes, you know."

"Daddy, you've told me that all my life."

"She would have wanted you to have this."

He handed her a box which, when she opened it, revealed a perfect strand of pearls. She had seen them before, in the wedding picture that her father still kept on the mantle in the house. Unable to keep her composure, tears fell to the floor, soon joined by her father's own tears.

They remained like that until Donna quietly entered the room and told them it was time. Angelica helped her father stand, and they began the trek down the long cathedral aisle. While her father was supposed to be there to support her, she was the strong one now, and had to help him make it down the aisle.

"Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I do."

* * *

Angelica carried her newborn daughter gingerly in her arms as she walked the familiar path to the familiar place, now strangely different. The journey from her car through the maze of memories gave her time to gather her emotions, although she knew it was in vain. She knew that as soon as she made it to the clearing, she would shed some inevitable tears. 

As the two white marble headstones, one weathered and aged, the other clean and new, came into her line of vision, the first of many droplets caressed her face.

She sat down on the cool grass, next to the marker that read, "Samuel N. Seaborn. 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. –C. Dickens.'"

Her father was now lying beside her mother, in peace after the disease attacked his body for months. The woman that gave her life but never lived to see any of it, and the man who raised her but never lived to see her raise the next generation were finally where they belonged—next to one another in this world, together in the next.

_Fini._


End file.
